Environmental enhancements could combine with recreational opportunities.
The Okanagan Collaborative Conservation Program is proposing a conservation strategy for Ranchlands Park, where mountain bike trails could be installed.
“We would work with all of the partners,” said Scott Boswell, OCCP co-ordinator.
“We’re all for mountain biking but we want to ensure we are preserving the natural grasslands.”
Ranchlands Park is on Ravine Drive in Coldstream, and the OCCP would use regulatory and educational tools to ensure that recreational activities within conservation areas are compatible with biodiversity protection.
Among the project deliverables would be co-ordination with the mountain bike club and biologists for trail planning and development.
There would also be planning for species at risk.
The OCCP is seeking $10,000 from the Greater Vernon Advisory Committee.
Jim Garlick, a GVAC director, supports anything that brings naturalists and mountain bikers together.
“Right now, it’s the wild west up there so it would be nice to have something organized,” he said.
“It would be a win for mountain bikers, residents and the environment.”
